For a few weeks now, I've been learning about what BitShares is, how it works, and why it's important. It started with my altcoin investment story which began with Steemit, then PIVX (which has so far done amazingly well), and then BitShares. I did a post about the BitShares DEX and how you can short the USD by borrowing bitUSD into existence and then purchasing cryptocurrency with it. A few days ago I asked some newbie questions about BitShares and tonight I finally got around to reading the whole whitepaper.
View the BitShares White Paper Here
Sometimes learning new stuff can be a bit overwhelming. More than a couple times, I felt a bit like the young Joe Miller, drinking from the fire hose.
Hopefully you've seen the movie UHF. If not, it might be difficult for us to be friends. That said, my wife @corinnestokes hasn't even seen it and would probably hate it. Heheh.
I really did enjoy reading and listening to the white paper (I have my mac dictate to me with text-to-speech at full speed while I read). This was probably my favorite part:
The traditional banking system has long practiced what is called fractional reserve banking, but in many cases the more appropriate term is “fictional” reserve banking. In the BitShares ecosystem, however, we demand at least 100% reserves.
"fictional" indeed.
Most people don't realize how fiat currency works or how banks create money out of nothing with almost no collateral backing it. They don't realize how shaky the entire system is and how little it would take to cause major problems. 2008 was a serious warning, and we've mostly ignored it.
I like how the white paper ends with hope:
...We have described the foundations of the BitShares network, which we hope will soon begin to inspire a paradigm shift from classical banking towards peer-to-peer financing. We have laid out the many features and benefits of the BitShares Decentralized Exchange, which offers financial instruments for anyone to utilize with low barriers to entry.
What would the world look like if each individual controlled their own store of value? What if those with guns and a monopoly on the use of violent force within a geographic region couldn't take that value away? What if the banksters, fraudsters, and speculators who lie, cheat, and gamble with other peoples' money found the supply of value being entrusted to them dwindle away?
We as individuals and as business owners have tools available right now to take back control from governments and crony corporatists. The BitShares protocol is a great example of what's possible.
I'm sincerely thankful for Dan, Fabian (@xeroc), and others for building it, and I hope ongoing development and marketing will continue, even if the original creators are now focused on other things. I hope more people will benefit from decentralized exchanges as part of their own private wallets on a platform which is secure and maintained by trusted witnesses.
I don't know if BitShares will be passed by as other platform as a service protocols gain funding and attention, but I think there's something special here. I hope it grows and more people get involved who can really show off the power of this system and continue working with the developers to improve the user experience.
If I can be helpful, please let me know. Though I'm still a newbie, I'm learning what I can and will answer questions as best I can or seek out those who do have the answers.
The future is decentralized.
The future is freedom.
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